It’s been a while, but we’re still here, with some news…

Although we’ve been quiet for a while, some things have been happening with the development proposed for the City People’s site, and we want to catch you up-to-date.

Because this has been a 54-month long process details are confusing, so a quick reminder of the most recent events.

• February 2019 the Hearing Examiner, in response to our appeal, agreed with SMV on two issues—shadow impacts to the P-Patch and drainage for the proposed building.
• In the following months the developer filed a number of motions protesting various parts of the decision, all of which went nowhere, but forced SMV to spend further money for legal services.
• October 2019, the City officially presented Velmeir (the developer) with remands on these two issues, instructing them to do further study.
• May 2020, SMV became aware that Velmeir had completed their work, turned it into the City, and the City was about to issue a decision.This information which would normally be made public on the City’s website was posted weeks late.
• Due to the City’s lack of transparency, SMV had to scramble on the eleventh hour to submit comments from our attorney and community experts.We successfully got those comments on record before the decision was issued.

So… Surprising no one at this point, the City green-lighted the project. They said the studies Velmeir had done were sufficient. Also not surprising, we disagreed. It has become painfully clear over these years that the City sees their role as a facilitator of the developer’s vision. Independent monitoring is absent. As the community has over the years provided that independent voice, bringing in respected professionals who have voiced credible concerns (or, as we like to call it, ‘doing the City’s job’), the City has treated this as an unwelcome intrusion. We are not heard. Simply put, the City is not regulating development. Regulations are used to guide developers how to present their paperwork. Real concerns from the public are treated as backward-thinking grumblings from self-interested irritants, sadly allowing issues raised by the community to be disregarded out-of-hand.

Now, to the present. We have once again appealed to the Hearing Examiner this most recent decision by the City. A date for the hearing has been set: November 3rd (and the 4th and 5th, if needed). Yes, Election Day. Our attorneys, experts, and community members will be representing SMV, remotely, in front of the Hearing Examiner. Hearings are open to the public, so any of you who’d like to attend, let us know and we can send you a link.

Thank you for sticking with us and for continuing to care about how our community develops and grows. Your generosity has gotten us this far. Please consider donating again now.

Working together to follow the rules, assert the will of the people, look to the future, one tree, one building, one election at a time…